Tech Minutes

Businesses today rely on so much technology that it’s impossible to think about operations without considering how technology can make them more efficient. In fact, many organizations would completely collapse without the innovations brought about as a result of technology development. One of the hottest trends over the past few years has been the shift from in-house assets to web-based assets, ranging from application access to infrastructure hosting.

Traditional telephone lines were once extremely important for your business’s success. You had to have dedicated phone lines in your office running to each and every desk so that each of your employees had access to a phone when they needed it. Nowadays, however, virtual telephone systems have become popular with businesses of all size. How does this new way of handling your business’s communications hold up compared to the more traditional model?

How does your business communicate? If you are relying on a telephone solution that isn’t optimized to fit the specific needs of your business, you may be hindering your ability to stay efficient and cost-effective.

Telephone solutions have long been a part of the business environment, but it’s not always a simple process to implement, as no two organizations are the same. How many users do you have? How many telephone units do you need? How many wires will you need to run through your office? These questions, and more, make it much more appealing to consider a digital voice telephony system for your business’s needs.

Businesses have always relied on telephone communication systems to stay in touch with external and internal contacts. However, the traditional method of telecommunication has fallen behind the times, giving way to more flexible solutions that are designed to save businesses money and improve efficiency. In particular, Voice over Internet Protocol can be a valuable asset for small businesses that are experiencing growth.

Rather than using telephone lines to transfer and receive calls, VoIP uses the Internet to send your voice to the recipient. Considering how most businesses need an Internet connection in the first place, using VoIP is simply utilizing a technology that’s necessary in order to eliminate an unnecessary expense.

Differences Between VoIP and Traditional Phone SystemsDoes your business utilize VoIP? If not, you should consider doing so as soon as possible. It’s a great way to cut down on your operational costs and improve workflow. Here are some of the main differences and advantages that your organization can experience from using VoIP as a part of your communications infrastructure.

Additional features: While your traditional phone system might support services like caller ID, user blocking, call forwarding, conference calling, etc, VoIP offers all of these services, plus some. Unlike the traditional phone system, which you need to be close to the receiver to use, VoIP works right from your desktop PC, laptop, or smartphone. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can use your work number from anywhere, allowing for flexibility that the traditional phone system envies. Plus, VoIP offers several other features, including video conferencing, which can be very helpful for bridging the gap between employees while working remotely.Decreased costs: If you’re paying for both a landline and an Internet connection for your office, you’re essentially paying for one too many services. Considering that landlines are often bundled with other services that you may not necessarily want, it’s more affordable and efficient to simply use VoIP as your preferred communications solution. Add in the fact that you can say goodbye to long distance, and you have a convenient and cost-effective package.Flexibility: Traditional phone systems require an immense amount of work to add new lines to an infrastructure. Depending on your office’s setup, new phone lines need to be installed, and you might even need to remodel your office. Both can be expensive, but with VoIP, you don’t need to waste time or money on improving your infrastructure. As long as your Internet connection and internal network can sustain the traffic and strain, VoIP will work as intended.

If your organization is ready to implement a solid new communications infrastructure, a VoIP solution can go a long way towards improving operations. To learn more, give us a call at 607.433.2200.

Traditional phone systems were once the only mode of communication for businesses and their clients. In-house workers would make outbound calls on a limited number of lines. The Internet changed this part of doing business for the better. Now, by taking advantage of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems, your team can eliminate the cost of traditional phone systems, while investing in flexible solutions designed to improve productivity and communications.

It’s not always easy for businesses to keep up with the latest communications technology. Some organizations are still stuck in the days of using antiquated communication mediums that are specific to the individual, rather than to an organization. In order to optimize the way your business communicates both internally and externally, it’s critical that you address the following two opportunities for unified communications.

The technological landscape of the office environment has evolved significantly over the past few years, especially in terms of technology that fosters inter-office collaboration. What could only be accomplished by sitting down together in the same room, can now be done remotely through the use of video conferencing and VoIP technologies. It’s a true golden age of business technology achievement, and if your business isn’t fully leveraging your communications technology, you’ll quickly fall behind.

Take a good, hard look at your desk telephone. How often do you use it for day-to-day operations? With the advent of technologies like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and the smartphone, it seems silly to be reliant on the telephone that’s tethered to your desk. However, some people still aren’t ready to leave the office telephone behind in favor of these new technologies. But… why?

Despite the rapid advancements of business technology in the past decade, enterprises the world over are still heavily dependent upon email. Therefore, every modern worker needs to be trained on how to send a professional email. If not, classic email mistakes will be made that could bruise your company’s reputation, like these four common email blunders.